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Here are some pics of my braced top. To me it seems like some of the
braces are a bit girthy. How do I know when to quit?
Feel free to critique my work as you see fit, that's what I come here for!

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Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle

Chris:

Nice clean work! Maybe a little on the heavy side on the X-Braces. Looks good tho'!

-Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

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Heavy in which way Mark? Too high? Too thick? Not deep enough in the scallops?

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Aoibeann

Chris,
I agree with you. I would make those a lot thinner, especially on the top. I would also round off the corners a lot more.

Here is a picture of my latest to give you an idea. It is in process here and still needs to be sanded a lot. I'm sorry I don't have a better picture for you.




Talk to your teacher and listen to him. He should be able to help you out a lot.

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

1) What's the height at the "X"? You may be able to lower that.
2) What's the height at the peak of the "X" scallop? That could be lowered and have more room to taper thinner toward the edge.
3) How thick are the X-braces? They could be made a bit lighter by profiling the top portion.
4) How stiff is/was the top? You may be able to sand the perimeter of the lower bout once it's glued up to the sides.

Use these as guidelines and tap like crazy to notice how it changes the tone, volume and sustain. You'll learn a lot. Good luck!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

i second the other's comments on reducing the lateral mass of the bracing. the strength come from height rather than the width of the brace.

from the photo, the ends of your x-brace also seem to be somewhat high, as do the ends of your tone bars. the ends of the x-braces look as though you intend to tuck them into the linings, in which case i think about 1/8" is the highest i would want them. i also prefer the tone bars to taper out to almost zero. leaving them high increases the risk of brace separation or top cracks.

it also increases the strength of your x-bracing dramatically if you cap the gap in the lap joint. the top serves the purpose on one side, and a thin cap of brace wood or even, as some prefer, contrasting hardwood is needed to match it on the open side. some even make their cap in an X covering both arms of the x-brace, whilst i have also seen round disks used.

i would also prefer the grain of the bridge plate to be running on the bias to avoid the bridge pin holes aligning with the grain. helps avoid cracks.

crazymanmichael39030.5895601852

Looks pretty good to me, the only thining I feel oversized the X-brace thickness. Also the step down near X-brace intersection is a bit too sharp. Sharp transitions create terminal points. Gradual and radial contours do not. Also sharp transitions create possible paths of failure and stress risers.

Chris:

I was looking at pics of my first while I was home for lunch. My braces on that one look remarkably similar to yours! I'll ditto what Michael, Hesh and the others have stated. I'd thin them a bit, put a cap on the lap joint of the X-brace, and smooth the curves of the scallops. If you decide to go as is, I would at least cap the X.

My guess is it would be quite servicable as is, and I think you'll be pleased, but it will be even better with a bit more shaping! My first sounds pretty good, and it was just cheap e-bay wood. (Maple/Sitka)

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
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Ditto what the others have said, take a bit more mass off the X-brace and put a cap on the lap joint, very neat work BTW!